The IT company 6pm yesterday announced that they are opening a branch in Gozo – a move that was described by Investment, Information Technology and Industry Minister Austin Gatt as falling in line with the government’s commitment for Gozo.

Company director Ivan Bartolo explained that during the past five years, 6pm developed two successful products that were never sold by the company because they are unique and extremely lucrative tools.

As a result, he said, 6pm decided to develop a third product and Gozo was chosen as the location where this will take place.

Mr Bartolo said that the location will be chosen in March and that, eventually, maintenance and support will move to Gozo.

“At first there will be around 10 employees but if we see that there is a positive response then we are ready to look into further investment there,” he said.

Minister Gatt said that the company’s move is of satisfaction to the government and falls in line with the government’s initiatives for Gozo.

He pointed out that 6pm is the second company, after HSBC, to move to Gozo in an area where eventually a business park will be built.

“I believe that IT companies will find a great advantage in Gozo as it doesn’t have the cutthroat competition there is in Malta for human resources,” said Dr Gatt.

He went on to say that, in Gozo, there is a niche, which still needs to be tapped into, of people trained in IT and who prefer working in Gozo instead of commuting to Malta.

“The next step is to improve the infrastructure and competitiveness in Gozo. Investment in a data centre is also needed – all this is part of the government’s plan,” he said.